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The Alps (; (イタリア語:Alpi) (:ˈalpi); (フランス語:Alpes) (:alp); (ドイツ語:Alpen) (:ˈʔalpm̩); (スロベニア語:Alpe) (:ˈáːlpɛ)) are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia, and Switzerland.〔("Alpine Convention" ). ''Alpine Conferences''. Retrieved August 3, 2012〕 The Caucasus Mountains are higher, and the Urals longer, but both lie partly in Asia. The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains about a hundred peaks higher than , known as the "four-thousanders". The altitude and size of the range affects the climate in Europe; in the mountains precipitation levels vary greatly and climatic conditions consist of distinct zones. Wildlife such as ibex live in the higher peaks to elevations of , and plants such as Edelweiss grow in rocky areas in lower elevations as well as in higher elevations. Evidence of human habitation in the Alps goes back to the Paleolithic era. A mummified man, determined to be 5,000 years old, was discovered on a glacier at the Austrian–Italian border in 1991. By the 6th century BC, the Celtic La Tène culture was well established. Hannibal famously crossed the Alps with a herd of elephants, and the Romans had settlements in the region. In 1800 Napoleon crossed one of the mountain passes with an army of 40,000. The 18th and 19th centuries saw an influx of naturalists, writers, and artists, in particular the Romantics, followed by the golden age of alpinism as mountaineers began to ascend the peaks. In World War II, Adolf Hitler kept a base of operation in the Bavarian Alps throughout the war. The Alpine region has a strong cultural identity. The traditional culture of farming, cheesemaking, and woodworking still exists in Alpine villages, although the tourist industry began to grow early in the 20th century and expanded greatly after World War II to become the dominant industry by the end of the century. The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted in the Swiss, French, Italian, Austrian and German Alps. At present the region is home to 14 million people and has 120 million annual visitors.〔Chatré, Baptiste, et al. (2010), 8〕 == Etymology and toponymy == The English word ''Alps'' derives from the Latin ''Alpes'' (through French). Maurus Servius Honoratus, an ancient commentator of Virgil, says in his commentary (''A.'' X 13) that all high mountains are called ''Alpes'' by Celts. The term may be common to Italo-Celtic, because the Celtic languages have terms for high mountains derived from ''alp''. This may be consistent with the theory that in Greek ''Alpes'' is a name of non-Indo-European origin (which is common for prominent mountains and mountain ranges in the Mediterranean region). According to the Old English Dictionary, the Latin ''Alpes'' might possibly derive from a pre-Indo-European word *''alb'' "hill"; "Albania" is a related derivation. Albania, a name not native to the region known as the country of Albania, has been used as a name for a number of mountainous areas across Europe. In Roman times, "Albania" was a name for the eastern Caucasus, while in the English language "Albania" (or "Albany") was occasionally used as a name for Scotland. It's likely that ''alb'' ("white") and ''albus'' have common origins deriving from the association of the tops of tall mountains or steep hills with snow. In modern languages the term ''alp'', ''alm'', ''albe'' or ''alpe'' refers to a grazing pastures in the alpine regions below the glaciers, not the peaks.〔Schmid et al. (2004), 93〕 An ''alp'' refers to a high mountain pasture where cows are taken to be grazed during the summer months and where hay barns can be found, and the term "the Alps", referring to the mountains, is a misnomer.〔〔Fleming (2000), 4〕 The term for the mountain peaks varies by nation and language: words such as ''horn'', ''kogel'', ''gipfel'', ''spitz'', and ''berg'' are used in German speaking regions: ''mont'', ''pic'', ''dent'' and ''aiguille'' in French speaking regions; and ''monte'', ''picco'' or ''cima'' in Italian speaking regions.〔Shoumatoff (2001), 117–119〕 German ''Alpen'' is the accusative in origin, but was made the nominative in Modern German, whence also ''Alm''.〔("Names" ). Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Swissworld.org. Retrieved August 3, 2012〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Alps」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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